This was a unique opportunity to get a free glimpse into the savory menu of offerings from Westchester’s only ensemble theater company devoted exclusively to developing new works for the stage by local playwrights and performed by skilled actors from Westchester and the surrounding region. Slated to be showcased are highlights from past performances that evolved from WCT’s play development workshops.

The featured pieces included: Excerpts from Lot’s Wife by Albi Gorn, a mainstage production directed by WCT Executive Producer Karina Ramsey that debuted at WCT’s new black box performance space at 23 Water St. in March; a mix of comedic and dramatic monologues directed by WCT Executive Director Alan Lutwin from Notes from the Frontlines: Nine Monologues; and excerpts from The Maltese Babka, a staged reading of a tongue-in- cheek homage to film noir by C.J. Ehrlich, directed by Christopher Arena. Seating is general admission. The WCT member actors performing include: Eileen Elliott, Donna James, Maiysha Jones, Kurt Lauer, Joe Albert Lima, Tom Lloyd, Lynne Marcus, Pat O’Neill, and Suzanne Ochs.

Excerpt from Lot's Wife ​by Albi Gorn

Lot's Wifeis based on the Biblical tale of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, with echoes of the Holocaust, Lot and his family desperately try to find ten devout souls to prevent the destruction of their home. Along the way they discover that the power of faith can have dire consequences, and that survival can exact its own disastrous repercussions.

Leavened with humor and humanity, Lot's Wife is a unique channeling of a troubled family, that is both timeless and topical.​

Excerpts From The Maltese Falcon by C.J. Ehrlich

When a femme fatale hires Jake Pantograph, private eye, to find her missing sister Mimi, his investigation leads him into a twisty maze of other mysteries wrapped in danger.

How far will a socialite go to break up her son's engagement? Who's blackmailing the billionaire? What happened at the scanties-party on the yacht? Will the will be read on time? How many sides are there in a love triangle?Can Jake make it through this tangle of suspects, seductions, red herrings, and off-kilter theories, to punish at least one bad guy? There won't be any black-and-white answers in this homage to the shapely characters, snappy innuendo, and sultry settings of film noir.​

Eileen Elliotthas appeared in The American Theater of Actors' production of The Seagull, in The Heights Players' productions of Women Behind Bars and Dividing The Estate, and with the Oxford Shakespeare Company in Richard III, Othello, The Merry Wives of Windsor, and As You Like It.

Joe Albert Lima is an actor, playwright, and director. As an actor he has appeared in over 75 roles in the New York metropolitan area including several directed readings at WCT. His favorite roles are Hoke in the Crown Players production of Driving Miss Daisy and Gabe in the Elmwood Playhouse production of Fences. As a playwright, his play A Short Walk into Sunshine was selected as the mainstage production at WCT in 2015. He has directed 23 plays, most recently A Time to Kill at Elmwood and the WCT mainstage production in 2015.

Tom Lloydhas been acting with community theaters off and on since 1976, when he first joined ACT's Sweet Charity. Among his favorite parts are Billy Bibbit in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Tom in That Championship Season, Ensign Pulver in Mr. Roberts, to name a few. He was in Falling Rock Zone, an improv group, and has appeared in several original musicals and plays.

Maiysha Joneshas been performing at various theaters in New York and Connecticut. She was last seen as Charlotte in The Underground Railroad at Shades Repertory Theatre. Other recent shows include Sister Act (Michelle), Dreamgirls (Michelle), and The Vagina Monologues(I Call you Body). Some of her other performances have been A Time to Kill (Gwen Hailey), A Short Walk into a Sunshine (Peaches), and Intimate Apparel (Mayme).

The Monologues

Funhouse Mirror by Pat O'Neill

Pat O'Neill​Pat O'Neill is a human being (totally, trust me on this) with WCT. Sometimes he plays pretend on a grand scale, and sometimes he can be found stringing words together into sentences to tell odd stories about the human condition. He wants to thank his family for their support, WCT for the opportunity, and countless vending machine ‘incidents’ for the inspiration.

Good Company by Joseph P. McDonald

Joseph P. McDonaldJoseph P. McDonald, Playwright, has written more than 30 plays, many of which have been produced Off-Off Broadway in NYC. McDonald=s libretto for the musical adaptation of AA TALE OF TWO CITIES@ received a LORT production at the Helen Hayes Performing Arts Center in Nyack, NY. Currently in progress is an original musical based on Rasputin and the Romanovs, a sequel to Moby Dick, entitled “THIS NARROW SCUTTLE”, and “TETE a TETE”, a play about the after-life of two men executed in France in 1977.

Ask Zsusanna by C.J. Ehrlich

C.J. Ehrlich​C.J. Ehrlich’s award-winning one-acts have been performed in many states, notably of undress and panic, around the US and on five continents, and are published by Heuer, Smith & Kraus, and Applause. Her scifi time travel comedy ZANE TO GATE 69 recently (or perhaps will) enjoyed a five-week run in San Antonio, and her farce THE CUPCAKE CONSPIRACY: “Terrorism is Easy. Marriage is Complicated” (co-written with Philip Kaplan) is now available for licensing. A proud member of the Westchester Collaborative Theatre, C.J. lists among her greatest achievements teaching her sons the fine art of the spit take. Please visit at CJ-Ehrlich.com.

Westchester Collaborative Theater is committed to develop of local new plays.These pieces have already been workshopped in WCT labs and our collaborative dramaturg process.